


Jeremy Heere's Culinary Adventures

by smoothmovebro



Category: Be More Chill - Iconis/Tracz
Genre: Filipino Character, Fluff, M/M, and the one time he regretted it, jeremy trying new food and liking it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-13
Updated: 2017-11-13
Packaged: 2019-02-01 19:37:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,310
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12711576
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smoothmovebro/pseuds/smoothmovebro
Summary: The champorado was sweet, and so was Michael for making him that.The Pop Rocks were an Experience.The wasabi, however, was a Mistake.





	Jeremy Heere's Culinary Adventures

**Author's Note:**

  * For [outofprintgames](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=outofprintgames).



> written for nanowrimo 2017  
> dedicating today's ~~delayed~~ fic to [this person](https://outofprintgames.tumblr.com/) <3

As they pull up in front of Michael's house, Michael slaps a hand against his forehead.

"Shit, there's no food in the house," he says. 

"It's ok," Jeremy says, getting out of the car. "We can order pizza-"

Michael gets out of the car as well and raises a finger. "Nope! You deserve home cooked food." He dashes inside and Jeremy follows. Michael heads for the pantry and takes out jars.

"Glutinous rice... hot chocolate powder... pellets..." he names each ingredient as he takes them out of the pantry. He grabs a pot, fills it with water, and lets it boil. He turns to the fridge and cries out in triumph when he finds some leftover dried fish. "This is perfect!" he says with a grin.

Jeremy peers at the strange variety of ingredients on the counter. "What are you making?"

"Champorado," Michael replies. He opens the jar of chocolate powder and puts a few tablespoons of it into the pot. He takes a large spoon and stirs it in the water, then takes a few pellets and drops them in the pot. He stirs again, then goes back to the pantry. 

"It's my lucky day if I find- aha!" He grabs a chocolate bar and puts it on the counter beside the jar of grains. 

Jeremy cocks his head. "Rice and chocolate?" he asks. 

"Not just any rice," Michael says. "This is  _glutinous_  rice. Makes it sticky and more porridge-like." He watches over the pot and drops in chunks of the chocolate bar when he sees the pot come to a rolling boil. He keeps adding chunks until half the bar is finished and he continuously stirs until all the chocolate has dissolved. He takes the jar of grains and pours out some of its contents. He sets it aside, then constantly stirs as he talks to Jeremy. 

"Dude, you're gonna  _love_  having champorado. Can you get me a can of condensed milk?"

Jeremy opens the pantry and gives the can to Michael. He reaches up the cupboard and grabs two small bowls. He opens the can and pours about three tablespoons’ worth of condensed milk into each of the bowls.

“Why there?” Jeremy asks.

“It’s to sweeten it. You can add more if you find it too bitter, because you’re meant to make it bitter. Then everyone else can sweeten it how they like.”

Jeremy nods and watches Michael make the food. He asks questions while they wait for the rice to expand and for the pot’s contents to thicken.

“So what exactly  _is_  champorado?” he starts.

“Chocolate rice porridge,” Michael replies. “It’s a thing back in the Philippines. Great for  _merienda._ ”

“M-merienda?”

“A small meal. Like an afternoon snack.”

“Why the fish?”

“It goes well with the champorado.”

“ _Fish?_ With chocolate?!”

“You’ll never know until you try.” Michael turns to the pot and scoops out a bit of rice to taste if it’s done. He nods, then shuts off the stove and starts serving the porridge. He takes the large spoon he used to cook and fills the bowls to about three quarters full. He fills Jeremy’s bowl before filling his.

“Remember to stir in the condensed milk, or else you’re gonna have a really bitter first spoonful,” Michael says.

Jeremy takes a spoon from the kitchen drawer and starts mixing the dark brown rice porridge. With the condensed milk mixing in, the color of the porridge changes until it’s the same colour as milk chocolate.

Once fully incorporated, Jeremy scoops a spoonful, blows for a second, then tastes the champorado. It’s thick and rice-like, and also sweet with a tinge of creaminess from the condensed milk. He nods his head, smiling, and Michael grins.

Michael heats up the dried fish and places it on a small plate. He breaks off a small piece and hands it over to Jeremy. “Add it to your next bite,” he says.

Jeremy takes the piece of fish, places it on his bowl, then scoops it along with his next bite. His eyes widen and he blinks a few times.

The salty crunchiness of the fish contrasts well with the smooth sweetness of the porridge. The dried nature of the fish almost makes it taste like meat. Jeremy raises a brow at the new tastes but welcomes it.

Already seeing the positive reaction, Michael has broken off the meat of the fish and set it aside for Jeremy. He also sets aside some pieces for himself and he mixes it in his bowl along with the condensed milk.

They eat in silence and Michael raises his brows when he sees Jeremy finish his bowl clean. “I didn’t realise you’d actually like it.”

“Yeah, it’s very sweet.” He brings the bowl to the sink, where Michael is beginning to wash up, and pecks him on the corner of his mouth. “Like how you’re sweet for doing this.”

Michael laughs. “It’s true, what they say.”

“What?”

“That a way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.”

* * *

Michael takes a packet of Pop Rocks and slaps it on their table when he arrives for lunch.

“A little birdie told me you’ve never had one of these before,” he says, raising a brow.

Jeremy shrugs. “I just never saw the point, you know.”

“The point?!” Michael parrots. “You  _have_  to try some!”

Michael seats himself in front of Jeremy and opens the packet. He gestures for Jeremy to hold out his hand and when the other boy does, he pours a handful of the stuff onto his palm. Jeremy inspects the Pop Rocks.

“Are you sure they’re meant to be crushed up like this?”

“Yeah, just pop them all in your mouth, like so,” he says, then demonstrates. He pours a handful, brings it to his mouth, then knocks his head back so that all of the Pop Rocks go in. He gestures for Jeremy to do the same.

The chunky powder settles in his teeth and before he could swallow, he hears a crinkling noise and a light tingle in his mouth.

Jeremy squeaks, but is unable to say anything. He braces his hands against the table and looks down at a point on the table with frantic eyes. Michael claps and leans back as he laughs.

“They’re meant to do that. It’ll take a while before they fully dissipate.” As he speaks, Jeremy can also hear the crinkling noise coming from Michael’s mouth.

Jeremy’s grip on the table loosens and he sits up, tasting the sweet sourness of the Pop Rocks as the tingling and fizzing fade out from his mouth. He sweeps his tongue around his mouth, checking for any more of the powder, then speaks.

“It feels weird but it tastes nice.”

“And that’s another thing ticked off from the bucket list,” Michael says. He pours another handful for himself and eats it.

* * *

Michael has taken them to a sushi place. “You have to try it!” he insists as they go in.

They sit by the bar with the conveyor belt of sushi dishes going around. Michael orders a small platter and takes a few dishes as they pass by their seats. He puts down a tamago nigiri, which looks like a moulded piece of rice with a bit of scrambled egg on top, wrapped with a strip of seaweed.

“Try this for starters,” he says. Jeremy digs in and nods, finding it not too shabby.

Michael’s platter comes in and he lets Jeremy pick from the variety.

Jeremy eyes the varying raw pieces of fish on top of rice and crinkles his nose. He decides to be smart and takes the smallest thing from the platter.

He takes the small green lump in his chopsticks and puts it in his mouth.

Michael had to rub circles on his back as he cried with a pitcher of water beside him.

**Author's Note:**

> champorado is the best thing, esp if you pair it with bacon or dried fish (that is, if you like the mix of sweet and savoury). it's also ok if you have it all by itself. if you dont put condensed milk in your champorado, you've either made it very sweet or you've got a hardass soul.  
> there's loads of champorado recipes online so feel free to give it a go!


End file.
